Bitcoin is generally regarded as the first modern cryptocurrency. It is the first publicly used means of exchange that combines decentralized control, user anonymity, record-keeping via a blockchain and built-in scarcity. Shortly thereafter, as with all new technologies, iterations of the cryptocurrency and applications of the blockchain began to develop. This includes the Ethereum blockchain—a custom blockchain designed to facilitate smart contracts software protocols configured to operate in distributed networks. Bitcoin (and other blockchain or distributed ledgers networks), however, have issues related to scalability. In addition, given its proof-of-work design, mining in Bitcoin requires the consumption of large amounts of real-world computational resources (e.g., electricity, computer hardware, etc.). These and other drawbacks exist.